Full Circle
by KinkerBelle
Summary: Rayne. One ShotVingettes. Just a little ficlet that wouldn't stop trying to eat my brain. Reviews are love.


Jayne throws his fork down in front of him, completely irritated.

"For the last gorram time, STOP IT!" He shouts at Simon and Kaylee. It's a tribute to how wrapped up in each other they are that they barely hear him.

"Huh? Stop what?" Kaylee says dreamily, briefly glancing away from Simon to look at Jayne with a question in her eyes. Ever since Miranda, it's been like this. Non-stop, googly eyed, kissing and hugging and cuddling and generally being disgusting.

"This touchy feely gorram gross thing that yer playing at! Some of us are trying to eat."

"So eat." Simon mutters, staring deeply into Kaylee's eyes. The mechanic giggles softly as if he's just said something very cute and intimate.

River drops her fork next to her plate and pushes her unfinished food away from her. "I've suddenly had my appetite reduced." She mutters, throwing Jayne a sympathetic glance. He gestures to her while looking pointedly at the Captain.

"An' now it's not jus' me. Make 'em stop!" He commands more than asks. Mal looks up suddenly, he clearly has not been paying attention to the events going on at the table. Jayne sighs heavily when he notices Inara's hand on the Captain's knee.

"Whadd'ya say, Jayne?"

"Nothin'." The merc mutters, completely out of steam on this issue. He just grabs his plate and fork and walks out of the mess. He makes his way into the cargo bay and takes a seat straddling his weight lifting bench. He grins happily, finally able to eat his food in peace.

"Would you be opposed to company?" River's voice echoes through the bay.

Jayne looks up and sees her swaying nervously on the walks above, plate in hand. He's a little surprised that she'd trade the company of her brother (even as he is currently) for his.

_Well_, he figures, _it aint like she's gonna put me off my appetite. Unless she has one of her fits… aint likely that'll happen though…_

He shrugs indifferently.

"Go ahead." He replies, nodding to the space in front of him. She floats down the stairs gracefully, then over to the weight bench where she sits sideways. Her legs cross and she sets her plate down, perfectly balanced on her knee. They eat in relative silence.

* * *

The mule glides smoothly into the bay, heavy with their stolen bounty. Jayne hops off and sets right to work, storing the crates of priceless jewelry and artifacts swiped from a wealthy estate on Persephone. River is by his side. They don't speak even as they work seamlessly together.

Mal frowns and observes them questioningly. "Ya'll get in a tiff 'er sumthin'?" Jayne raises an eyebrow at River. She shrugs and continues working.

"No." Jayne says, pushing another crate into the secret compartment in Serenity's hull.

"Why aint ya talkin' then?"

River throws the Captain a confused look. "Do Jayne and I usually converse?" Jayne chuckles and smiles to himself, which for some strange reason makes River smile to herself as well.

Mal squints at them curiously. "Not a terrible much, no. But ya spend all yer meals together. Now y'aint talkin'. It's a mite… creepifyin'… is all."

"The shared venue at meal times is due to the unappetizing public displays of affection in the galley. Jayne does not repulse me, therefore I share my meals in his company."

Mal joins in the storing of crates but has not lost his confused expression. "What do you two find gross about the galley?"

"Everyone else there." Jayne mutters, which prompts a giggle from River. The captain stops pushing his crate.

"I got no idea what yer gettin' at Jayne."

"That would be the point." River says dryly. This gets a full out belly laugh form Jayne, which makes Mal even more confused. The Captain gives up, walking off to find Inara, and leaving River and Jayne to do their weird shared laughter thing. They continue on.

* * *

The mist of the shower is warm and lovely as River readies herself for a typical cleansing ritual. Serenity has never had an actual, legitimate showing room, but the crew makes due with the impromptu nozzle long since welded into a hot water line by Kaylee. There is a small pressure and heat monitor that was once part of a blood pressure arm band glued to the valve that controls both water pressure and heat.

The room in a small section of the "basement" of Serenity. According to the Captain it requires no curtain because "any fool can tell that if there's steam coming from behind the door, there's a person in there." River has always been inclined to agree.

This is why is particularly surprising when just as she has removed her final garment of clothing, she turns and finds Jayne. The mercenary is completely shell shocked. So is she. Though while she should immediately rush to cover herself, it seems as if her arms are not working properly. She can only stand like the proverbial deer in the headlights.

"There aint no steam comin' from under the door… I din' think that…"

River nods jerkily. "Quite understandable, I've only just arrived."

"Oh. Damn. Sorry. I should…"

"Leave?"

"Um, yeah."

And yet, he can't seem to move himself anywhere. His feet feel like they've been replaced with cinder blocks. His eyes linger all up and down River's naked body. She might be forced to shiver, if the air around her weren't so very warm. It's the strangest thing, but his eyes on her no longer make her feel uncomfortable.

River considers Jayne.

Tall. Gruff. Mean. Very handsome.

It becomes bizarrely logical to her that it she would not mind him seeing her nude. She would, in fact, very much like for him to drop his lone small white towel from around his waist, if only to even the proverbial score.

"Well…" she says, making bold eye contact. "You're free to leave. But really, why waste the hot water?"

* * *

Jayne has seen women get shot before. Some were just another person in harm's way, and some were women he cared about.

He's seen his partners get shot before, seen them die, even.

And lastly, he's seen River get shot before. He's seen her get shot before and after they started having sex. He's seen her get shot before and after they started dating. She doesn't, per say, get shot that much, but they have been together a very long time.

What has never happened to Jayne before, was a woman confessing her love for him, and then getting shot immediately afterwards.

And really, that was kind of a stunner.

* * *

River wakes in the infirmary, looking into Jayne's impossibly blue eyes.

_Oh_, she remembers, _this is why I didn't die_.

Jayne smiles, almost as if he's heard her. On some level, River imagines he has.

* * *

They are married the next week. The wedding is attacked by pirates.

Neither River nor Jayne are pleased in the least. Though Simon seems to be trying to hide a bizarrely inappropriate smile for most of the attack.

When the pirates have been slaughtered and River's pretty white dress is splattered with blood and thicker things, she says that she does, and Jayne agrees. The reception goes much better.

From there, their lives never really get easier. But they do get happier, and that's pretty much what counts. Many years later, their first born daughter Gillian will complain about the looks they cast at each other when no one else is looking. They will ignore her as they were ignored once and that will be just fine.


End file.
